GPD addresses concerns after ICE arrest

On Aug. 17, the Gunnison Police Department (GPD) announced that agents from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) were present in the City of Gunnison and took an undocumented community member with a criminal warrant into custody. ICE is a federal law enforcement agency under the Department of Homeland Security that enforces immigration laws and conducts criminal investigations.

Because the GPD has limited jurisdiction regarding federal matters, Deputy Chief Frank Rodriguez could not disclose the individual’s name, or the specific charges behind the criminal warrant. However, he said the arrest indicates the charges were significant enough to warrant action by ICE. 

“I have been doing a lot to communicate with the community that ICE is going after individuals who are undocumented and have a criminal warrant associated with their name,” Rodriguez said. “In order to meet the threshold that would necessitate a federal agency to go after you, [the charges] would be quite high. I say that to highlight that the individuals that ICE is targeting are individuals that we would not necessarily want in our community because of the associated dangers.”

Following the arrest, Chief of Police Sam Costello contacted the ICE agent in charge of the operation for more details. On Sunday, Aug. 17, ICE agents targeted a single individual, observed their house, and stopped, detained and ultimately arrested the individual, Rodriguez said. 

“Right now there is a lot of concern, but ICE did not go house-to-house, they did not canvas the neighborhood or knock on doors,” Rodriguez said. “They sat on one house, looked for one individual and ultimately made an arrest.”

In the days after the arrest, Rodriguez said several false reports spread through town and fueled “hysteria.” One claimed that on the first day of school, the GPD partnered with ICE and smashed the car windows of undocumented community members. To counter the rumors, Rodriguez attended school open house nights to speak directly with families. Still, a number of students from hispanic families did not attend out of fear of ICE and local law enforcement, he said. 

“I always want to go back to the facts — no one has to fear being picked up, detained or chased, unless they have criminal warrants for their arrest,” he said. “My concern is that this will create a paradox, where the same people we want to help are not going to call us because they're scared of us.”

Rodriguez encourages community members to reach out to the GPD directly with questions or concerns. In an emergency, dial 911. For non-emergencies, contact the GPD at 970.641.8200.

(Alex McCrindle can be contacted at 970.641.1414 or alex@gunnisontimes.com.)